Scientists in Washington state are asking military families to donate the brains of their fallen loved ones to study possible links between head trauma and brain disorders.

The Pacific Northwest Brain Donor Network, a project by the University of Washington, will look for signs that service members who have sustained concussions also may have developed dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the Seattle Times reported.

'We are going to study these brains to the full extent that we are capable. They are so rare, so valuable and just so precious, and can give us so much information about what these exposures mean,' Dr. C. Dirk Keene, of UW Medicine told the Times.

The Pacific Northwest Brain Donor Network, a University of Washington project, will look for signs that service members with head trauma also may have developed dementia, Alzheimer's disease, or CTE. File photo

The mother of Cody Duran, a father-of-three who died at 30 (pictured) donated his brain to the study. He is not a service member but his brain will serve as a control